LONG DISTANCE LOVE
by naughtydreamz
Summary: From a redneck bar in Georgia to the bright lights of Los Angeles and New York. They were nobodies, but together they became America's Sweethearts. Will fame and temptation destroy them? Or will their love go the distance?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong solely to author Stephenie Meyer. American Idol Edward & Sissy (Bella) belong to me.**

**Welcome back! Long Distance Love is the continuing story of Edward Cullen & Bella Swan, singing star and singing waitress. It's been a year since they made their apologies to each other and reconciled at THE BAR in Georgia. Edward's career took off and he succeeded in his goal of having Bella's voice be heard. She is now equally as famous a recording star as he is, and they are America's Sweethearts.**

**Will fame and its temptations destroy them? Or will their love go the distance? **

**Rated M for mature themes, language, and of course...of course...SEX.**

**Check out the stunning banner for Long Distance Love Here: ** albums/l229/momzcool/Fan%20Fic%20Banners/?action=view¤t;=521397_10151037389717718_398221219_

**Thanks ever so much to Judy (coloradoperson) for her banner brilliance!**

**Long Distance Love**

**Chapter 1: Georgia On Her Mind****  
**  
Bella looked out of the window at the ground below as the plane circled for landing. The twinkling lights of the Atlanta International Airport beckoned in the distance causing a pang of homesickness to course through her. _Georgia, you have always_ _been on my mind...how eager I was to leave you, and how lonely I've been without you.__  
_  
Her thoughts reverted to the past, to those long ago lazy childhood days spent running barefoot on clay roads, to church revivals, to the days before her mother had packed up and left. She contemplated her childhood, before times were harder than hard. She remembered her daddy when he was still a big shot in the music business encouraging her to sing.

"Go ahead on, girl. Use those pipes the Lord gave you. Daddy's right here", he used to say.

_Oh daddy, why aren't you here now when I need you?_

She let her mind wander to those hardscrabble times when daddy's dreams came crashing down around him, when he wasn't nothing but a broken down drunken mess. People gossiped that Charlie Swan was a loser who had to rely on his only child to wait tables for him in a redneck bar to make ends meet. Sissy was the only one who believed in him. She had never given up on her daddy, even when he had given up on himself. He climbed into the bottom of a bottle and never climbed back out. She felt a tear slide down her cheek and wiped it away.

Her gaze was drawn to the city below once again.

_Atlanta. I need you like Edward needs Los Angeles._

She wiped away another tear.

_Edward._

It had been less than a year since he had swept her off her feet, discovering her in **THE BAR**, taking her away with him to join him in Los Angeles and securing her recording contract. Their romance had been a whirlwind, starting out so heavenly. She had known from the night she met him that he was the one.

The pilot cleared them for landing and the stewardess approached her in the luxurious first class cabin. "Miss Swan, if you'll please just remain seated until everyone else disembarks, I believe it will be best for your security", she spoke quietly.

Bella nodded in understanding.

She was so easily recognized these days. She lost count of the magazine covers her picture had been displayed on. Her voice had captured America, along with her love story. She was the small town girl with the voice of an angel who had won the heart of the green-eyed soul singer from American Idol. She sold millions of magazines and assured that people tuned in to watch when she made T.V. guest appearances. People loved a love story, and their romance had been played out in the tabloids for the whole country to drool over. Their songs were dissected and reviewed for personal relationship clues, and each one out-charted the other. They were the new Tim and Faith, occasionally dueting together, their love songs shooting straight up the charts to number one. The public couldn't get enough of Edward and Bella.

Soon, it became too much for her to bear. She craved her privacy and a sense of normalcy. Georgia was on her mind, and Georgia was where Edward would find her.

_If he ever takes the time to notice I'm gone. _

**Author Notes: This story, like its predecessor GIFTS was created and completed 3 years ago. Any similiarities between situations in this work of fan fiction and real-life events happening to Rob and Kristen are purely coincidental.**

**Some of this is going to hurt...love sometimes does. But if I am anything, I am a Happily Ever After girl. I can make that happen in fan fiction. Real life not so much. Sigh...**


	2. Chapter 2

**The characters of Edward and Bella were borrowed from owner Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 2: Incommunicado**

**GEORGIA**

Bella arrived at her condo on Peachtree Rd. in the Buckhead section of Atlanta shortly before midnight. She parked the rental car in the parking garage and gathered her two suitcases from the trunk. She had packed lightly when she left Los Angeles, unsure of how long she'd be away. The incessant ringing of her cell phone was ignored as she made her way into her home. Somehow, she knew it would be Edward, and she wasn't in the mood or ready to talk with him just yet.

The property caregiver had been advised she'd be arriving, which allowed for the fridge to be stocked and the bedroom linens to be freshly laundered. Her cell phone rang again, and was once again ignored.

She placed her suitcases in the foyer entryway and removed the high heels that were sending razor sharp stabs of pain through her arches. Walking gently across the Berber carpeting to her plush sofa, she simply lie down and fell exhausted into a dreamless sleep.

The frantic sound of Edward's voice on her answering machine jolted her awake. "Bella, it's me. Are you there? Pick up, baby. Are you there? Bella?" **CLICK**

She rolled over onto her back and wiped the sleep from her eyes, glancing at the clock on the wall. She realized it was four hours earlier in Los Angeles and calculated the time there – five a.m.

_Edward must have just come home from the clubs...he'd come home and realized I was gone.__  
_  
Her condo phone rang again and went unanswered. The answering machine recorded Edward's desperate attempt to reach her. "Bella, just pick up the phone if you're there and let me know you're okay. Bella? Bella! What the hell are you doing? Why did you leave?" **CLICK**

She put both her hands over her face and held them there as the tears came.

_Oh Edward, if you'd only listened. You don't have time for me anymore; you don't have time for us anymore. All your free time is spent partying and playing and I can't live like that! I won't watch you turn into daddy!_

She got up from the couch and walked to the desk where her phone was located. Pulling the cord from the wall, she disconnected it, returned to the couch, and lay back down. Now, he couldn't call the condo anymore. If he called her cell phone, she'd continue to ignore it.

_Let him see how it feels to be ignored._

She was too emotionally drained to find the energy to go to her bedroom, so she got as comfortable as possible on her couch and stared at the ceiling until sleep overtook her, not waking up until late the next morning.

**Author Notes: So Bella is projecting her daddy issues onto Edward...and he, being Mr. Oblivious is living large in Los Angeles. These two are in for a bumpy ride...**


	3. Chapter 3

**The usual disclaimer about who owns and who borrows applies.**

**Thank you if you are reading and/or reviewing. This chapter is a short one...they won't all be this brief. **

**Chapter 3: Epiphany**

**LOS ANGELES**

He sat on the edge of their bed in his boxers with his head in his hands. He had called the condo in Atlanta repeatedly, but the number now appeared to be out of service, and her cell phone was rolling over to voice mail. He had text messaged her so many times he lost count. Now, he simply sat alone in the pre-dawn hours wondering what had gone wrong. Why had she left so abruptly? Why was she refusing to take his calls? He thought about their relationship. They didn't fight. He didn't cheat. The sex was out of this world. _Why would she leave me?__  
_  
He ruffled his hands through his hair and lie back on his bed, one foot propped up, not yet ready to concede to sleep. He was already achingly lonely without her. His hand absentmindedly went to her side of the bed, tracing the shape of where her body should be lying beside him. He was so used to coming home and crawling into bed beside her. She would be sleeping so soundly, so warm and naked beneath the crisp sheets and he would come home and get into bed with her and pull her close and….

He sat upright as if he had experienced an epiphany. _Oh God. Oh my God. I did this,_ he realized. _She left me because I'm always leaving her. Night after night after night I leave her for the clubs and the parties and the nightlife that she has told me she wants no part of, and I didn't listen and now she's gone. I have to go to Atlanta...I have to find a way to convince Bella to come home._

**Author Notes: Sometimes drastic problems require drastic measures...Bella needed to give him a wake-up call, and it worked. He figured it out...he realizes why Bella left him. **


	4. Chapter 4

**No copyright infringement is intended by my use of Stephenie Meyer's Twilight characters.**

**Chapter 4: Coming Home**

**GEORGIA****  
**  
**THE BAR**was just as she remembered it. She walked into the front door, and the sights and sounds immediately assailed her, familiar to her as drawing breath from all her years of living and working there. "Sissy!" People ran up to her and greeted her like the old, long lost friend she was. Here, she wasn't a superstar. People in these parts didn't think of her as Bella Swan, famous singer. To these folks, she'd always be Sissy, their friend, and their waitress.

She laughed and cried and hugged everyone in the place. She served them their drinks and their food, just like back in the old days. Some of the guys challenged her to pool and darts, just to prove she was still one of them, and she took their challenge, beating a few of them soundly. No one questioned why she was back, everyone was just happy to have their old friend Sissy home again.

Finally, the place closed, and she was able to go see her old apartment in the basement. Taking a deep breath, she unlocked the door and let herself in. Everything was exactly as she had left it. Her albums and CD's were untouched. Her posters were still on the walls. _My apartment,_she thought as her eyes darted around the room. Her gaze came to rest on her bed, the bed where Edward had made love to her the first time they had ever been together, the first time she had ever been with a man at all. Her eyes watered at the memory of that day.

She had shown him her recording studio and told him about her daddy. They had recorded together, something she had never done with anyone before except her father. She had given him her heart, her love, and her trust. She had given him the gift of her virginity. She went to the bed and lay down on it, pulling her old, worn comforter over her and hugging her pillow close. _You came back for me once my love, she communicated to Edward telepathically. Will you come back for me again?_

**Author Notes: Hang in there, he's on his way to Georgia!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All things Twilight are the exclusive property of Stephenie Meyer.**

**To my readers and reviewers: Thank you so much for your kind words and interest in my story. I hope you like this longer chapter!**

**As with the prequel GIFTS, music will be an integral part of this story. Song inspiration for this chapter is A Tender Lie, written by Randy Sharp and recorded by the country music band Restless Heat. The song appears on their 1988 album Big Dreams In A Small Town. **

**Rated M for language and adult situations.**

**Chapter 5: The Reasons Why**

**LOS ANGELES****  
**  
He cancelled all previous engagements and caught the first available flight out of **LAX **to Georgia. Without her, nothing mattered. Without her, what was he? He would find a way to straighten out this mess and bring his Bella home.

**GEORGIA**

She liked to putter around in the bar. She realized that she missed her old life sometimes. It felt good to be back in the real world, and not in the made up world of Hollywood. Of course, she had the comfort in knowing she had financial security, but it was relaxing to stop being on display, and feel like a normal, regular person again.

Sunday's were closed to customers, and Bella told her ex-boss she'd handle things for him so he could spend time with his family. She still remembered the Sunday routine of stocking the liquor behind the bar and in the back storeroom, placing their orders for the upcoming week with the various vendors, and general housekeeping and maintenance. She was alone and singing to herself in the backroom when Edward arrived.

**Say you'll never stop loving me****  
****Just as if it were true****  
****How much more damage now, honestly****  
****Could one tender lie do?****  
**

He stood on the sawdust floor, rooted to the spot, listening to her angelic voice as a sense of déjà vu washed over him. His heart pounded wildly in his chest, and his knees almost buckled as he waited for her to come out of the back storage room. He hadn't seen her in a week, yet it felt like years. Since the day they had left Georgia together last year, they had not been apart. The past seven days without her had been like living in hell.

He remembered the first time he had seen her, so naturally beautiful, with long brunette hair, deep brown eyes, and those freckles sprinkled across her nose. She had been so innocent and guileless, had taken him without fear and hesitation into her heart and home...and her bed. One year later, she had matured into a gorgeous woman who left him breathless every time he saw her. She'd cut her hair slightly into a more modern style, still long yet fashionable, and she'd begun to experiment with clothing and makeup, as she'd grown more famous and confident. He was quite simply dazzled by her.

Her singing became louder as she left the backroom to return to the main bar area, her voice strong and clear.

**Say you're going to come back to me****  
****and I'll believe that its true****  
****how much more damage now, honestly****  
****could one tender lie do?**

Bella knew he was there before she saw him. She would recognize the scent of his cologne anywhere. It could be on any other man's body, and it wouldn't smell the same as it did when it was on her man. Her voice caught in her throat as she stopped singing abruptly. She felt her eyes immediately fill with tears, which she blinked away rapidly. She was determined to remain under control. She loved him so and missed him more, and hoped fervently he had come to repair their broken relationship.

She walked into the main bar area and trembled at the sight of the only man she had ever loved, would ever love, standing on her sawdust dance floor. For several seconds, silence engulfed both of them, each unsure of what to do. His eyes drank in the sight of her, as beautiful in his eyes wearing jeans and a work tee shirt as if she had been in a designer dress for a Hollywood event.

She spoke first. "I guess you used your key to get in".  
"Yeah".  
"If I had known you were coming, I'd have cleaned myself up a bit", she said nervously, attempting lame small talk.  
"If you had known I was coming, you would have taken off and ran again", he countered.

She heard the anger and pain in his voice and realized he was upset with her. She'd learned over the course of the past year that he was a complex man. Scratch the surface of Edward Cullen and all sorts of interesting things appeared. She walked to the bar and poured two healthy shots of tequila. She needed a drink and she assumed he did also.

Bella made herself comfortable in her favorite booth and took a healthy swallow of her drink and waited for Edward to join her. He sat across from her and downed his tequila in one large gulp. His inclination was to slam the glass onto the table, but he controlled his temper and placed it down gently instead. The liquor was hot in his belly, and beginning to work its magic already, relaxing him and calming him down.

"Baby, why did you leave? I think I know, but I want you to tell me yourself".  
"I tried over and over to tell you, Edward, but you wouldn't listen", she said. "I'm so tired of being home alone while you go out partying".

He nodded his head. It was as he'd predicted when they fell in love. This would be the difficult part. He enjoyed the nightlife, and she was a homebody. How to merge the two?

"So you decided to take off without warning, scaring me half to death, and you couldn't pick up the phones when I called just to let me know you were okay?", he asked  
"I'm sorry. I was mad at you and didn't want to talk to you", she said. "Do you forgive me?"

She finished her drink and put her glass down, reaching for Edward's hands across the table. He locked hands with hers, rubbing her palms with his thumbs, looking into her eyes, relieved that this whole episode seemed close to being resolved.

"I think I can come up with a way for you to properly ask for forgiveness", he suggested.  
Her eyebrow arched so seductively he felt his groin tighten.  
"Can you really? Do tell please", she flirted coyly.  
"Well, for starters you can come sit here beside me in the booth", he told her and patted the bench next to him.

She waited for a few seconds, allowing the tension to build between them, and then slid out of her side of the booth. Slipping beside him onto the bench, she scooted close to him, grazing her hip and thigh against his as she wrapped her arms around his waist. He put his right arm around her shoulder, pulling her fiercely against him, hugging her protectively. She nuzzled her face into his neck, inhaling the scent of his skin and cologne, kissing and nibbling, and sending spasms of desire shooting through him. He kissed the top of her head whispering "I love you so much. You don't know how badly I've missed you, baby. Let's get out of here".

Wordlessly, she nodded. Her need for him was evident on her face, and in the reaction her body was expressing. "I just need to lock up", she said. "You'll be pleased with how the condo looks, Edward. They've done a great job keeping it up".

"Fuck the condo. I'll never make it there. We're going to your apartment here, sweetheart", he said before he kissed her deeply and passionately, taking her breath away with his need and desire.

**Author Notes: Well that break-up was short-lived! What did they really solve though? Hmmmm...**


	6. Chapter 6

**Said it before, will say it again. Edward and Bella aren't mine, but this little love-story is.**

**Minor references to Restless Heart again in this chapter...can you spot them? And yeah...I kinda love that band.**

**Rated M because Edward is ready to re-claim his woman. Get ready...**

**Chapter 6: Need, Want, Desire...**

**BELLA'S APARTMENT****  
**

He hadn't been back in her little apartment since the day they'd packed her things to leave a year earlier. He glanced around quickly, and noticed that things were just as they'd always been, and made a mental note to really check things out later. He also wanted to pay a visit to her father's recording studio while he was here, but there would be time enough for that whenever. Right now, all he was focused on was Bella and the bed. He wanted his woman in his arms on that bed.

She barely had her door locked behind them when he began to ravish her. She was facing away from him, still fumbling with the deadbolt when he gently but firmly pressed her into the door from behind and pinned her into place. His hands lifted her hair to allow him free access to her neck, which he kissed, sucked, and nibbled as he whispered to her while he rubbed his heat into her bottom. "Baby girl, I missed you so much".  
She responded, wriggling her bottom into his pants and putting her hands behind her to grab his ass, pulling him closer, urging him to go on, to continue.

His hands moved from her hair to her tee shirt, which he pulled over her head. She was braless, he had known. He had seen her nipples poking through her shirt when they were drinking in the bar; it was one of the reasons he needed to slam his shot of tequila back in one gulp. Oh, he couldn't wait to see those nipples again, the torture made his balls ache. For now, from behind her, he was content to reach around for a little touch. His fingers walked up her hips to her waistline and crept around to her navel, where they met at the narrowest part of her waist. Slowly, slowly, they inched up to her bare breasts, till each hand cupped a full orb. She moaned at the same time that his head leaned into her hair, resting, savoring the feel of her breasts in his hands. His fingers stroked and pulled at her nipples, coaxing them to attention. "Turn around, Bella", he whispered to her." If I don't see them soon, I'm going to die".

He released her and allowed her to pivot, but still kept her pinned against the door. She turned to face him, naked from the waist up, chest heaving; nipples at attention, eyes glazed and fixed on him, awaiting his next move. He cupped his hands over her breasts again, thumbs rubbing gently over her erect nipples as he leaned in for a long, wet kiss. He'd missed the taste of her tongue and needed her tongue dancing on his, but her nipples were erect on his fingertips and he ached to feel them in his mouth.

"Bella, you have no idea how much I missed you, how much I missed this" he whispered to her, his fingers flicking her nipples. The sensations were overwhelming her. He knew how sensitive her breasts were and he always paid extra attention to them during their lovemaking.  
"Edward, please", she managed to say.  
"What? Please what? Tell me what you want, sweetheart", he urged her as his mouth pulled a taut nipple in, hard. He felt her knees give way, and held her up by her waist so she wouldn't collapse to the floor.

She moaned, "Oh God", lifting her arms above her head and holding them there for a moment, then dropped them over his neck and held him tightly as he licked and sucked her nipples. He worked his magic on each side till she could barely stand any longer, till she pulled his mouth off her breasts and forced him to kiss her again, long and slow. When their kiss ended, before their lips parted, she spoke into his mouth, "Take me to the bed, Edward...please take me now".

With her arms still locked around his neck, and her naked breasts against his shirt, he lifted her under her bottom, directing her to lock her legs around his waist for the short walk across the room. He reached the bed and allowed her to dismount, where she hurriedly began to remove his shirt. She was as frantic for sexual contact now as he was, and it excited him enormously when she became the aggressor in their lovemaking.

Her hands went to his belt buckle and zipper, tugging down his jeans and boxers, freeing his cock, already so hard and throbbing, ready and yearning for her touch. She sat on the edge of her bed, topless in her jeans and looked at her lover, adoring his muscular manliness. She cocked her finger to him – come here - and he stepped forward and sucked in his breath deeply when she began stroking his balls with her soft hands.

"How long are you going to make me wait until you show me how much you missed me, Edward?" she asked as she began moving her hands up and down his shaft. She wet her lips with her tongue and licked him from the base of his cock to the bulging head where juices were escaping before he was able to find his voice and respond.  
"Oh my God, stop. If you don't stop I'll cum right now, Bella", he panted, pulling her head back.

He pushed her gently back onto the bed and sucked in huge amounts of air to regain control. Feeling her mouth and tongue on him after a week without her nearly sent him over the edge. He'd watched her lips closing over him and knew he was getting close to losing it, but the feeling, God; the feeling when she'd made contact was when he knew he was a goner. He knew he'd have to take control of the situation or their make-up sex would be over before it started. He felt like he was hit by a fast moving train.

He unsnapped and unzipped her jeans and she lifted her little bottom to assist him in tugging them off her. Oh Jesus, she was pantiless. He gulped and licked his own lips at the sight of the pretty peach he loved so much. "God, I can't get over how beautiful you are when I see you naked like this", he whispered to her.

She slithered up higher on the bed for comfort, resting her head on her pillows and coaxing him up the bed beside her. He joined her and kissed her long and slow, rubbing his hand up and down the length of her body as he made out with her. His hand came to rest between her legs, and his fingers slipped inside her wetness, probing, rubbing, and moving in and out in a gentle rhythm that left her aching and breathless.

"Don't make me wait, Edward", she begged.  
"You have to", he said. "I've missed tasting you there".

He slid down the length of her body and nudged her thighs apart with his jaw, his five o'clock shadow pleasantly rough on her inner legs.  
He pulled at her womanly lips with his mouth and kissed her most intimately, extending his long tongue as far inside as he could, licking and tasting what he had missed for seven days. His fingers assisted him in her pleasure, gently finding her deep center, and then her clitoris, as he kissed and sucked, tasted and swallowed every drop she gave him. She spasmed violently into his mouth, her pleasure complete, nearly unable to breathe with the rapture.

He spread her legs apart wide and held them open with his knees as he lay on her and kissed her hard, allowing her to taste herself on his mouth. His erection was at her opening and he thrust inside her in one deep stroke.

"God, Edward!" she cried out "God!"

Sometimes she thought he forgot his size. He pulled her close and held her tightly to him and thrust inside her over and over and over, relentlessly. He forgot himself, forgot everything but his need and desire for her, forgot about trying to sustain his pleasure, knew only that she was his woman and he was with her again. He needed her, he needed her to know, and he called her name again and again as he made love to her, "Bella, Bella". With every thrust he pulled her closer and said her named more urgently, "Bella", until all she heard was the sound of her own name echoing in her ears mixing with the sound of the crashing waves of their mutual orgasms.

He lay spent and exhausted in her arms, still nestled between her legs as she stroked his back, his favorite thing, she knew, after their lovemaking. Her eyes filled with tears and spilled down her cheeks and she also felt dampness on her neck. It was several seconds before she realized those were his tears and not her own. They lay quietly without speaking, their tears co-mingling. Broken hearts were mending in the blessed glow of after-love.

**Author Notes: Is it wrong of me to be jealous of make-believe?  
**


	7. Chapter 7

**The originals belong to Stephenie.**

**A million thanks if you are reading, reviewing, or recommending this to someone else to read...I know I do not reply to every review, but I read every single one of them and they all thrill me...just to know that someone is taking the time to show an interest in an author very under the radar in the fandom such as I am is actually quite an honor...so thank you from the bottom of my heart. **

**Song inspiration for this chapter is Foolish Pride, written and recorded by country artist Travis Tritt. It was the first single off his 1994 album Ten Feet Tall And Bulletproof.**

**Rated M for mature content and language.**

**Chapter 7: Shattered**

**PEACHTREE RD.**

Bella was a typical woman preparing to go out for the day. In other words, she needed a good hour or two to get ready. While she did her hair and makeup, Edward inspected the condo and foraged for food. He was pleased with the way the place had been kept up. She spent a small fortune to keep a home available in the swanky area of Buckhead, and he knew the upkeep was expensive. He was relieved that he didn't have to bust anyone's chops for not taking care of her property.

He relaxed on the sofa with his snack while she took forever getting ready in the bathroom. He thought about the past week and how hard it had been without her, how the phone calls to nowhere had nearly driven him mad. He wondered why the phone here in Atlanta was disconnected and decided to check it out. At the desk, he saw that she had pulled the cord from the wall, effectively cutting off all contact to the condo. Shaking his head, he realized she must have been pretty upset and furious to go incommunicado that way. He re-connected the phone and answering machine and returned to the kitchen to scavenge for more food.

Several seconds later, the phone rang. If his hands had not been full with a plate and beverage glass, he might have made an attempt to answer it, but it was just easier to let the machine pick up. The sound of a man's voice stopped him cold.

"Hey baby, it's Jake. I had a blast the other night. Let's do it again soon. Call me". **CLICK.**

He set his food and drink down on the coffee table and walked to the answering machine and hit the play button, wanting to hear the message just left there. He didn't believe what he'd just heard.

"Hey baby, it's Jake. I had a blast the other night. Let's do it again soon. Call me". **CLICK.**

His hands began to clench and unclench into fists at his side. He could feel anger and jealousy boiling inside him. She'd better hurry up and come out of the bathroom and tell him who the fuck Jake was or he'd go in there and drag her out. He had been going insane without her for a week, anxious and desperate for contact, any contact at all, and she apparently had been fine down here in Atlanta with some asshole named Jake. He felt like breaking something.

She walked into the living room, refreshed and impeccably dressed for a day of window-shopping downtown. They'd agreed to spend the day together at a leisurely pace, enjoying each other's company, browsing the shops, searching for art and antiques for the condo. She looked lovely and desirable as always. He searched her eyes for clues, signs of deception. The thought made him insane with grief and wounded his pride.

Her arms went around him and her lips kissed him softly. His response was a terse question in the air. "Who the fuck is Jake?"

She stepped back from him, startled as much at his question as with the tone of his voice.  
"What are you talking about, Edward?"  
"You heard me. I asked you who Jake is", he repeated through clenched teeth.

He walked to the phone and played the message for her and when the call finished he looked at her and asked, "Who the fuck is this guy and why is he calling you? Why is he calling you "baby"? What did you have so much fun doing with him that he wants to do it again, Bella?"

She placed distance between them as she quickly grasped that he was angry and this was a side to him that she had not seen before. It unnerved her that he jumped to conclusions and obviously did not trust her. "I don't like the tone of your voice and the way you're speaking to me, Edward", she said.  
"You're not answering my question. **WHO THE FUCK IS JAKE**?" he yelled.  
"Just who in the hell do you think you're yelling at?" she asked him. She stood squarely before him now, her own anger brewing and the fury evident on her face. "You have some nerve questioning me!"  
"I asked you a damned question and I expect an answer!" he shouted. "You packed and left me in the middle of the night without any warning and cut off all contact with me, and for the last week you've apparently been down here fucking around with some asshole named Jake".  
"You get out", she spat. "Get out of here and go back to Los Angeles and your parties and clubs where you belong".  
"So it's true then, you're not even going to try and deny it? What was last night all about, Bella?" he asked.  
"I guess last night was nothing special, Edward if you're going to accuse me of unfaithfulness based on a telephone message. I think you'd better go now", she told him.

She struggled to hold herself together, determined that he would not see her break down and fall apart in front of him. How dare him! How dare he abandon her night after night doing God knows what with God knows who in those clubs and she had never questioned him, had never doubted his faithfulness! He had some nerve coming here and listening to an answering machine message and jumping to a conclusion about her character, never giving her an opportunity to explain about Jake. As if Jake Black could ever be anything more to her than just a boy she had grown up with and served drinks to in a bar, and who happened to be there the other night when she returned. They'd had a beer together and played darts and remembered the good old days. She was damned sure not going to let Edward treat her like a piece of trash for having an innocent time with an old friend.

"So that's it then? You're choosing him over me?" he asked incredulously.  
Her response was to turn her back to him, giving him the silent treatment. The violent slamming of the door as he exited the condo rattled the crystal in her dining room hutch, splintering a vase on the top shelf, a symbol of the shattered wreckage of their doomed love.

**She stayed up all night and cried into her pillow****  
****And fought off the urge to just break down and call****  
****Last night to find the fault seemed so darned easy****  
****But now who's to blame don't matter much at all**

**She thinks if she calls him it just shows weakness****  
****So the hurt goes on with every tear she's cried****  
****Ain't it sad to see a good love fall to pieces?****  
****Chalk another heartbreak up to foolish pride.**

**Turn out the lights the competitions over****  
****The stubborn souls are the losers here tonight****  
****And while the bridges burn****  
****Another hard, hard lesson learned**

**And in the ashes passion slowly dies****  
****And this romance goes down to foolish pride.**

**He relives every word they spoke in anger****  
****He walks the floor and punches out the wall****  
****To apologize to her to her would be so simple****  
****But instead he cries "I'll be damned if I'll crawl".**

**If he loses her he's lost his best friend****  
****And more than just a lover can provide****  
****So he wrestles with emotions that defeat him**

**Chalk another love lost up to foolish pride.**

**Turn out the lights the competitions over**  
**The stubborn souls are the losers here tonight**  
**And while the bridges burn**  
**Another hard, hard lesson learned**  
**And in the ashes passion slowly dies**  
**And this romance goes down to foolish pride.**

**Chalk another love lost up to foolish pride.**

**Author Notes: Um...the making up didn't last very long, did it? Despite amazing make-up sex, they solved nothing. It seems our boy jumps to conclusions and has jealousy and anger issues and Bella's first impulse is to run away or send him away. These two lovers need an intervention...stay with me to see who ends up helping! Remember what I promised: HEA. They just have to work through some things first.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Edward, Bella, and all things Twilight are the creation and property of Stephenie Meyer. I own a jealous, pissed off singer and an ex-waitress in pain.**

**Rated M for adult content.**

**Chapter 8: Opportunity Knocks**

**ATLANTA****  
**

He looked out of the windows of his spacious office in the Atlanta business district at the traffic congesting I-75 nearby and resigned himself to the fact that he wouldn't be getting out of the downtown area anytime soon. One of the perils of working in a major city was the horrendous traffic situation, and Atlanta was notorious for backed-up traffic. Jake loosened his tie and unbuttoned his Oxford shirt, propped his expensive Italian leather loafers on his desk, and reached for the flask he kept stashed away for situations just like this.

He downed a healthy swig of Grey Goose vodka, re-capped the flask, and placed his hands behind his head for a few moments of contemplation. Life was treating him pretty good lately. His law office was thriving, he had a nice home in Buckhead and drove an expensive foreign car, and he hadn't been kicked out of any beds recently, so the ladies weren't complaining. Unfortunately, the one girl who mattered, the one girl who had always had his heart, couldn't see what was right there before her eyes.

Jacob William Black could not remember a time in his life when Sissy wasn't everything to him. They had been children together, playing in their backyards, his momma and her momma hanging laundry outside in the fresh Georgia sunshine and talking housewife talk while the two young ones entertained each other. They'd grown up together, from diapers to teenage years and beyond. They walked to school with each other, dug worms for fishing, had contests skipping river rocks, and swam in the river together also. Jake remembered boldly suggesting skinny-dipping to Sissy when he knew her titties were coming in, but she had shyly declined. She wore her tee shirt into the water, which plastered to her body, revealing everything, and he grinned inwardly, remembering how he stayed in the water, hiding his woody from her.

He recalled how horrible it was for Sissy and her momma Renee when her daddy started screwing around, carrying on like a big shot because he had a successful music career. Word had traveled all the way back to sleepy Georgia that Charlie Swan was a womanizer, hitting the bottle and worse, dabbling in illegal drugs. Renee flipped out and left, and Sissy ended up with her grand maw and grand paw till Charlie came back for good and put Sissy to work in the bar.

Jake decided he needed another drink of the Grey Goose. The trip down memory lane wasn't always a happy one. Sissy had damned near been worked to the bone waiting those tables in that dive. Charlie had that recording studio, and it was the only pleasure she allowed herself, sitting on the stool in the studio while her daddy recorded her. Jake had heard that voice his whole life. She sang everywhere they went, walking the clay roads to school, on the riverbanks fishing, in the church choir, out on the front porch on a clear summer night. If he closed his eyes and concentrated, he could hear Sissy singing as if it were his childhood again.

When her daddy died, she continued working in the bar, and began asking for her turn at the microphone to learn about singing before a crowd. He'd be in **THE BAR**some nights when she was perched on that stool, and he'd shiver when she'd sing. There wasn't a prettier girl around. He had loved her for his entire life and she didn't have a clue. To Sissy, he was just good old Jake.

He had been determined he would win her heart. After graduating high school he'd left for college to make something of him so he could come back and show her what he had become. He was no longer Jake, the neighborhood boy. He was Jacob William Black, attorney at law in Atlanta. He was somebody, and he loved her. He was unprepared for the fact that when he returned, she had met that famous singer and been swept off her feet into the love story that captured America. He was shocked that his Sissy was now Bella Swan, star.

But things were looking up. She was home again. Trouble was brewing on the home front, and Jake was going to capitalize. She had walked into **THE BAR** the other night unexpectedly and he had just happened to be there and they had laughed and joked and reminisced about old times. She played darts with him and drank a beer and revealed that she and that Cullen guy were having a lover's spat. If that idiot couldn't understand that she didn't want a man who was going to turn into a party animal like her daddy did, then too fucking bad for him if he lost her. Jake heard opportunity knocking at his door and he planned on answering it.

**Author Notes: More angst ahead before we get to the happily ever after...now we've Jake in the picture, too. What's it going to take to get these two back on track?  
**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight. **

**Thank you readers and reviewers, I love love love your input and your interest! The appearance of Jacob in the flesh...and his determination to win Bella's heart has some of you worried. Fear not! It's Edward she wants, it will ALWAYS be Edward. I promised you a HEA and I'll deliver it...we just need to get some misunderstandings out of the way first. And I PROMISE: there will be NO CHEATING! There will be the appearance of cheating and they will wonder about cheating...but that's the extent of it.**

**Now...on with the story. This chapter and the next one are brief...just to get us into their mindset and where they are in all this breakupfuckery. We still need the big reveal on who is going to help them get back together, too! **

**Chapter 9: Gone To Ground**

**PEACHTREE RD.****  
**

The hours turned into days and the days into weeks. Bella busied herself with business correspondence between herself and her management team. Luckily, she had no imminent recording plans, so the stress of learning new songs and booking studio time wasn't a factor in her calendar anytime in the near future.

The gossip columns were beginning to have a field day over speculation that the **GREAT ROMANCE **was on the rocks. Edward was not exactly known for his subtlety, and had been photographed by the paparazzi several times at well-known Los Angeles nightclubs, each time with a different model or actress. He never spoke to the press or gave a statement, but his silence was beginning to speak volumes. Bella had not been with him on his prior club crawls, and he had always been careful to be seen entering establishments with his crew of buddies in tow. Lately though, he made a point of being seen with a new and scantily clad beauty at every party place he frequented. She saw the photos splashed across the gossip pages and struggled to hold her tears at bay. _It didn't take you long to get over me at all. _

She remained sequestered in Atlanta, refusing all interviews and requests for television guest appearances. She knew from prior experience that the topic of conversation would be Edward and nothing of real substance to do with her career. Unless she had something specific to promote, she wasn't going to give the tabloids any fodder for their rumor mills. Her private life was going to remain private if she had any say in the matter.

**Author Notes: Art imitating real life somewhat. Oh, the irony...**


	10. Chapter 10

**Nothing Twilight belongs to me at all. **

**One more brief chapter...**

**Chapter 10: Reflections And Realizations**

**LOS ANGELES****  
**

Life became a series of nonstop parties for Edward. It didn't matter that he was miserable and hated being at every single one he attended, what mattered to him was finding a way each and every day to get out of his house, their house, so that he didn't have to be aware of the fact that Bella wasn't there.

They had not spoken or communicated in any way since their argument in Atlanta. His gut churned in agony imagining her in the arms of another man. Would she really do that? Was it possible he had misread the whole situation? He poured a drink, something else he was doing a little too much of lately also, and looked out the window of the Los Angeles panorama spread out before him. Closing his eyes, he replayed their argument in his mind. He kept hearing her voice ask him if he was accusing her of something based on an answering machine message. He knew that he had a quick temper and often didn't think things through. He realized he probably could have approached her differently about who this Jake guy was.

He swallowed his drink and wiped his mouth with his forearm. What if Jake wasn't anything to her then, but due to his own stupidity, he had actually given her carte blanche to carry on with the guy by walking out the door. _Goddamn, I do_ _know how to make a mess of things sometimes._ He realized that he needed to stop playing around in the clubs, stop drinking, get his act together, and bring his girl home.

**Author Notes: LIGHTBULB! Now get your shit straightened out, Edward.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Everything Twilight is owned by Stephenie Meyer...it fuckin rocks that she's cool with us borrowing.**

**You guys are wonderful...thanks for encouraging me, reviewing, and wanting more. Ask and ye shall receive!**

**A little angsty in this chapter...**

**Chapter 11: Give The People What They Want**

**HOLLYWOOD****  
**

The biggest evening in the music industry had arrived, the Annual Recording Artists Awards show. The glitterati from all aspects of the industry were on hand to present and receive awards in categories ranging from writing, producing, scoring, arranging, and marketing artists to the artists themselves for song performance. The excitement was palpable as eager fans lined the barricades outside the theatre as limos arrived and one famous artist after another made their way down the red carpet to be photographed and interviewed before entering the venue.

Bella nervously made last minute adjustments to her dress and applied a fresh coat of lipstick in the limo just before they pulled up. "Do you think I look okay?" she asked.

"Are you kidding? You're gonna knock 'em dead honey".

Jake was amazed when Sissy called him and asked if he'd accompany her to the Awards Show. She was scheduled to be a presenter, and nervous about appearing alone in public. He was so honored to be at her side, and knew that no Hollywood starlet, no singing star could outshine how beautiful his Sissy looked on this night. He had seen women dressed up before, but Sissy damn near popped his eyeballs out when she came out of her room at the hotel they were booked in while in Hollywood. He had to catch his breath before he could speak when she had twirled to show him her dress.

The limo driver announced their arrival and they pulled to the curb and stopped. A curbside valet opened their rear door and Jake exited first, handsome in an expensive suit. He reached into the limo to assist Bella, and taking his hand, she placed one foot on the sidewalk outside car, hiking her dress up to show a tanned curvaceous leg as she did so. A photographer took that picture as the first in a series of pictures of the beautiful Miss Bella Swan appearing in public for the first time in months.

A gasp could be heard from the crowd as she completed her exit from the vehicle. She stood before them on the red carpet, slender and gorgeous in a Grecian jersey dress that hugged every curve and left nothing to the imagination. Her shoulders were exposed, and nothing more. She never wore clothing that was risqué or revealing. She was always ladylike and elegant, and looked more desirable than any other woman there. Her jewelry was not over the top, as she wore a simple pair of drop diamonds in her ears.

The photographers took her picture from every angle, and Jake moved beside her, placing his hand on the small of her back to escort her up the aisle into the theatre. Fans were calling her name, a few shouting out, where's Edward, as they moved purposely towards their destination.

Several limos behind them, Edward prepared for his departure from his vehicle. He tugged at his necktie, trying to make final adjustments, fed up already with the whole night. He was regretting that he'd agreed to be a presenter. His management team always argued that it was a good idea to keep his face out there in the public eye and show good will towards the industry and present awards. In other words, don't only show up when you are a possible recipient. Show some love to the people at every possible opportunity, and being a presenter at the awards show was a perfect example. His fans would be thrilled to see him, and the photographers would grab their opportunity to sell pictures of him. He'd accepted the invitation reluctantly, but was determined to get on with it and make the best of it.

He exited his limo and the crowds started screaming his name immediately. He smiled and waved, stopped for a few pictures and walked the red carpet into the venue. The photographers had a field day. Edward was alone. Bella had a mystery man with her. This was going to sell magazine covers. Even if the GREAT ROMANCE were over, the public would eat this stuff up.

**Author Notes: I feel kinda bad posting this Edward/Bella painful breakup stuff in light of real life events happening to Rob & Kristen. But...I wrote this several years ago and had no way of knowing the timing would be so ironic. **


	12. Chapter 12

**The usual disclaimer applies.**

**Chapter 12 Aftermath**

**HOLLYWOOD **

Bella and Jake sat together on the patio furniture on the balcony of Bella's hotel room sharing a light breakfast of fruits and coffee, waiting for the morning paper to be delivered. It was the morning after the awards show, and they were discussing the previous evening's events.

"I guess I did alright. I hate reading off those Teleprompters. Sometimes they scroll those things so darned fast and it's hard to keep up and you end up looking so foolish", Bella whined with a pout.

"You did just fine, Sissy. God, I felt so bad for those folks that completely lost their places. He was saying her lines and she was saying his lines and I didn't think they'd ever get that award presented".

They laughed together at the memory of the golden oldie couple that nearly brought the roof down when they got flustered at the Teleprompter and yelled at the producer to get his ass on stage and get them out of the mess they were in.

She didn't share her memory with Jake of how she excused herself to go to the ladies room when it was Edward's turn to come on stage to present an award. She didn't have to, he knew. She just couldn't look at him on that stage, she couldn't see him up there so handsome in his suit and hear him talking and ad libbing and entertaining the crowd while her heart was shattering at the sight of him so close to her, so she simply bailed out and left the auditorium to go to the ladies room. She didn't tell Jake that she had innocently dropped hints to people about who Edward might have brought to the event. What Jake didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

There was a knock at her door, and she answered it, accepting the morning newspaper from hotel room service. They finished eating their breakfast as they read the local and national news. She turned to the Hollywood gossip column and gasped loudly, causing Jake to look up from the sports page to inquire what was wrong. She wordlessly turned the newspaper to him:

**BELLA'S NEW BEAU?**

The caption was displayed under a picture of herself and Jake from the awards show the previous evening. It showed Jake standing very close to her, his hand at the small of her back, just as he began to lead her up the red carpet. She knew it was an innocent picture, captured in a moment in time between herself and the oldest friend she had in her life, and that he would always be her oldest and dearest friend and nothing more. The public didn't know that. Edward didn't know that.

"It's a great picture, honey. Does it really upset you that much?"

"But people think we're a couple now!"

"Sissy, would that be so horrible?"

She put the newspaper down and looked at Jake and realized what she should have realized a long time ago. She had felt for years now that she had been receiving signals from him, but didn't want to believe they were true. Apparently, they were. He was a good and decent man. He was her oldest and dearest friend. She would never think of him in the way he wanted to be thought of and she needed to let him know that, right now.

"Jake, I don't know what to say. I love you dearly, but not in the way that I think you want me to".

"I know. I've always known. I've hoped my whole life that you would fall for me, but I know now that it will just never be, and that's okay. Sissy, I'll always love you, though", he told her.

She started to cry and he left his chair. He took her into his arms and she let him, the one and only time he held her body close to his. She cried and cried, and he stroked her hair and shushed her, knowing that she didn't have a heartless bone in her body, knowing that she wouldn't have ever done anything to hurt him purposely. If her undying friendship were all he'd ever have, he'd take it.

"What are we going to do with you, Sissy? We can't just have you back in Atlanta crying and moping all the time. You think I don't know that you carry on about Edward? You think you hide it so well that you miss him and want him back?"

She wiped her eyes and her face and looked into Jake's eyes. "He thinks I'm having an affair with you".

"What? Where the hell did he get that from?"

She told him about the situation in the condo on Peachtree Rd. when Edward had overheard Jake's answering machine message to her after their fun at THE BAR drinking beer and shooting darts. He learned that Edward had jumped to conclusions because Jake had called her "baby" and revealed that he'd had fun with her and wanted to do it again sometime.

"We argued and I told him to leave. I could have set him straight about you and me, but I have my pride. He doesn't have any right accusing me of being unfaithful".

"Well, you're right about that. But, does this separation make you feel any better, Sissy? Have you made your point to your man?"

She nodded and started crying again. Jake let her move back into her chair and suggested she shower and get dressed. "You need to pull yourself together, Sissy. I have a few things I need to take care of out here before we fly back to Georgia. I'll see you later this afternoon, okay?"

She sniffled and agreed and he departed, leaving her to stare at the picture in the gossip column and wonder if Edward had also seen it.

**Author Notes: Poor girl...the man she wants she can't have, and the man who wants her she doesn't want. I hate this achy feeling...time to get them on the road to recovery. Next chapter is one of my favories...and there's not even any sex! :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Rated M for mature subject matter and language.**

**Chapter 13: Seting The Record Straight**

**EDWARD'S MANSION**

Nine o'clock in the morning was way too early in the morning for a drink, but the picture in the morning papers left him no choice. He needed something to dull the pain when he opened the pages of the newspaper and saw Bella's face staring at him, more stunning than ever, a man at her side, and the caption inquiring if this were her new beau.

His coffee forgotten, he headed for his liquor cabinet and the stiffest drink he could find. He stared at the picture, enraptured by her beauty and disheartened by the fact that she was not alone. _What are you doing, baby? Who is this guy?_

When she had taken the stage at the awards ceremony, he had felt all eyes on him, knew that every camera in the building had its lens trained on him for his reaction. He had forced himself to keep his gaze neutral as his love, the most beautiful girl in the world, approached the microphone for her presentation. Her dress nearly took his breath away. She looked like a Greek Goddess standing up there, ethereal and luminescent under the spotlight. His eyes devoured her. He was not aware that she had brought a man with her to the event. The morning papers destroyed him.

He was on his second drink, the newspaper before him, when his intercom rang. "Edward, you have a visitor", his assistant announced.

"I'm not expecting anyone, get rid of them", he spoke quickly in reply into the intercom. He was in no mood to play host to anyone today, especially an unscheduled guest.

He looked at Bella's face in the photograph again. _You haven't wasted any time jumping into the dating game have you, sweetheart?_

"Edward, it's a lawyer. He says he's here to see you about Miss Swan".

_Why would a lawyer be here to see me about Bella? _His mind raced with the possibilities. He had a vested interest in her recording career, as he had helped to negotiate her record contract and retained producer's credit on her music. They lived in California, which was a community property state, and as such, she probably thought she was entitled to half of everything he owned. _Great...she sent a lawyer here to let me know that she's planning to sue me for palimony_ _or some crap like that._

God, what had happened to them? What had they become? He downed the remainder of his drink for courage and resigned himself to meeting with her lawyer. He pressed the button on the intercom and instructed his assistant to escort the attorney in.

He busied himself with tidying up the remains of his breakfast to attempt to regain his composure. His back was to the door and he was at his bar again when his assistant lightly knocked before entering. "Edward, this is Mr. Black. I'll leave you two alone". His assistant made a brief introduction and left the room.

Edward took a deep breath and turned to greet the attorney, stunned to see the face in the newspaper before him.

"Edward, I'm Jacob Black. Thanks again for agreeing to see me", Jake placed his hand towards Edward for a handshake.

Edward's eyes narrowed. He did not extend his hand. "You're the guy in the newspaper picture with Bella", he stated.

"That's right, she wondered if you had seen it", Jake said.

"What did you say your name was again?" Edward asked, detecting a strong Southern accent.

"Jacob Black", he replied. "I escorted Sissy to the awards show last night".

Edward experienced a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as realization and awareness dawned on him of just exactly who this Jacob Black fellow was. His eyes closed to almost slits and he spoke with venom in his voice. "Why are you here? Isn't it enough that you're fucking my girlfriend?"

Jake was across the room in two large paces and his right fist connected with Edward's face. Edward's head snapped back and he prepared for the next punch, which never came. Instead, Jake unleashed a verbal barrage, which shook Edward to the core. "Don't you ever talk about Sissy that way again or I'll whoop your sorry ass all the way back to Georgia, you hear me boy? I don't know what she sees in you, because when I look at you all I can see is a self-absorbed Hollywood asshole, but that girl cries herself to sleep over you every damned night", Jake ranted.

Edward looked at Jake through a puffy, swollen eye, one sure to be black and blue in the morning and decided to find out why he had come for a visit. "Why are you here?" he asked Jake again.

"You mind if I pour myself a drink?" Jake asked. "Not that I'm planning to stay or anything, but I could use something right now".

Edward nodded to the bar as if to say – Help yourself – and waited for Jake to continue.

Jake poured a double and slammed a good portion of it back before revealing the nature of his visit.

"Look, I'm here because I want to help, believe it or not. She's hurting and the one thing I can't handle seeing is Sissy in pain".

They sat on opposite twin leather chairs and Edward listened to the history of Sissy and Jake... He imagined her as a little girl, doing all the things Jake spoke of, the worm digging, the rock throwing, swimming in the river, church choir singing. She had talked about her life with just her mother, and then the days as a waitress in THE BAR after her father had ruined his music career, but this was the first time he had heard it from the perspective of another person who had witnessed her life from the beginning. Jake openly admitted to Edward about his adoration and his love for Sissy. He told Edward of his lifelong dream that Sissy would one day return his affections in a true romance way, and not the friendship way they had known their whole lives.

"When you and Sissy had your little problem awhile back, I'll tell you, I thought that was my chance. I planned on moving in for the kill. We had a fun, innocent time at THE BAR throwing some darts and drinking beer. I called her and left a message to tell her that I wanted to see her again. I never dreamed you were at the condo, and I sure never dreamed that I was causing problems for her", Jake explained. "She said you took that message the wrong way".

"Are you telling me that you and Bella aren't lovers?" Edward asked, hoping for confirmation of what he thought he just pieced together from Jake's story.

"We aren't lovers now, and we never have been. I've never even had a kiss from the girl I've loved my whole life. Well, kind of", he modified his explanation.

Edward's eyebrows rose in question.

"We were fourteen and decided to play spin the bottle. It was just me and her, so I figured I had a pretty good chance of getting a kiss", Jake remembered.

Edward smiled. "What happened?"

"I spun and spun that Godammed bottle and it kept landing to the right of her or to the left of her, but it would never land on her. She said no kisses till it landed on her. It never did. I was so disappointed that she took pity on me and kissed me on the cheek when she left to go home. It's the closest I've ever come to kissing Sissy".

Edward grinned inwardly at the thought of his pretty Bella, playing spin the bottle, refusing to give her kisses. She withheld her affections, even from someone as close to her as this guy had been, making sure that nobody took what was hers unless she wanted him or her to have it. She was still the same at twenty-six as she had been at fourteen. How had he been so stupid? Why had he ever doubted her faithfulness?

Jake interrupted Edward's thoughts. "Look, I came here for one reason. Sissy loves you. I wish it were me that she loves, but it's not. We talked, and I've accepted the fact that I'll always be just a friend to her. She hasn't gotten over you, buddy, she hasn't even tried. She was so worried about that damned picture in the paper and what you'd think. She doesn't know I'm here and she'd probably be madder than hell if she did. I just wanted to tell you that there has never been anything improper going on between Sissy and me. If you want your girl back, you should go get her".

He stood up to go. "I don't know if you're going to listen to my advice and try to see Sissy. I don't know if she'll take you back even if you do try to see her. Just remember this, though. Sissy and I go back twenty-five years. I will always be there for her if she needs me, and you're just going to have to find a way to deal with that, my friend".

Edward remembered his manners and walked Jake to the door. He put his hand out for a handshake, admitting to himself that he liked this man more than he cared to admit. It had taken courage to come here and talk to him. She was lucky to have Jake in her life, and he knew that he had no reason for jealousy after meeting him and recognizing his chivalrous behavior towards Bella. "Thank you for coming. Honestly, I appreciate it. You're a good friend and she's lucky to have you", Edward said.

Jake left, and Edward pondered how best to approach Bella. Should he just show up at the hotel? Should he send a bouquet of flowers? A phone call? This required that he put his thinking cap on. He needed to get his girl back and he needed something that would get her attention. What would get Bella's attention?

**Authors notes: I don't know about you...but for that one chapter I was Team Jake. He totally put her before himself...her needs and her feelings...and that's what true love is all about. Next up: Edward's plan to get Sissy back.**


	14. Chapter 14

**All of the usual disclaimers apply.**

**Song inspiration for this chapter is Anymore, written by Travis Tritt and Jill Colucci, recorded by Travis Tritt. It appears on his album It's All About To Change in 1991.**

**We're nearing the end...someone needs to come up with a grand gesture and a sincere apology, ya think?**

**Chapter 14: Asking For Forgiveness**

**NEW YORK****  
**

Bella's first studio session time in several months was booked, and her management team had decided to record at The Record Plant in New York City instead of recording in Los Angeles. She had been busy learning her new songs and rehearsing for her sessions. Today was the first day of taping, and she arrived early, eager to get started on her newest recording.

She left the ladies room after freshening up and greeted familiar old friends who were always with her during recordings, her manager, producer, and sound technician. Edward was conspicuously absent. She wondered if his absence would affect the way she performed. He was her heart and soul, and she couldn't imagine that her feelings wouldn't be evident in her singing.

With her headphones on, Bella listened to the backing tracks before she stepped to the microphone for take one of her taped vocals. Her voice sounded shaky, even to her, which she put down to nerves. It had been a while since she'd been on the microphone, and her personal life was in a shambles. She knew she just needed to build up her confidence and her vocals would come.

She asked for a second and a third take, which the engineer gladly gave her. He loved working with Bella, loved the fact that she was the daughter of the late, great Charlie Swan. She knew her way around a recording studio and a soundboard, and could talk tech-speak with the best of them. She'd be fine, he knew it. She just needed a little time. All this business with Edward had gotten to her.

"Guys, can we take a break? I think I just need to stop for a little while, okay?' she asked them. She looked at them through the large plate glass window and they all nodded and gave her the thumbs up sign and headed out of the studio for a cigarette break and the bathroom.

She remained on her stool, headphones on, lost in thought. _Why isn't this working? Daddy, please help me. I sound_ _terrible and I can't concentrate. My life is falling apart, daddy._ She rocked back and forth on the stool, willing herself to beat the demons threatening to overwhelm her. She had always been able to sing, had always felt at home on the stool with a microphone. Why was this recording session any different?

_Because this time you are recording with a_ _broken heart, girl._ She heard her daddy's voice in her head._ Use it. All artists use their grief. _

A tear slipped down her cheek. She wiped it away. _Daddy, you are here with me, aren't you?_

She thought of Edward and how much she loved him and missed him. Daddy was right. She was broken-hearted and grieving. It was time to stop fighting it and let the emotions come out. By the time her team returned from break, she felt ready to sing again, and waited patiently to begin.

In the hallway outside the studio, a familiar face greeted her sound engineer. "Edward! What are you doing here, man?"

"Hey man, what's up? How's she doing in there?" Edward asked his own question in return, effectively dodging an answer as to why he was there. Technically, he had the right to be in the recording studio with Bella when she recorded, but given the circumstances of their relationship at this point in time, it was a little awkward. Still, he knew that nobody would stop him. This was his ticket in, and he needed the engineer's help anyway.

"She's having a rough time, Ed. Her voice sounds shaky and she isn't confident at all. We're taking a break right now to let her rest and get it together a little bit".

Edward nodded his head. He had been there, so he knew how his sweetheart was feeling right now. The pressure was enormous when you had a studio clock ticking and a crew getting paid and your vocals weren't tight. It was the loneliest feeling in the world. He'd give anything if he could just go in there and talk with her and hug her and encourage her. If everything worked out with his plan, maybe, just maybe he could.

He decided to ask the sound engineer for help. Nobody else had returned from break, so this was a perfect opportunity.

"I made a tape back in L.A. and I'd like to play it for Bella while she's in there alone. Will you roll it for me?"

The engineer looked at Edward and saw the desperation in his eyes.

_Oh boy what am I getting into? _"Okay, let's go...just stay in the background while I talk to her".

They entered the sound room together, with Edward careful to remain several steps behind him so as not to be seen. The engineer turned the lights in the control room down very low, and then nodded to Edward to come have a seat at the control panel. Bella still sat in the recording booth with the headphones on, unaware that the men were at the controls. The engineer spoke quietly to Bella on the intercom, announcing his presence. "Bella, I'm back. I'd like to play something for you".

She spun on her stool and looked through the plate glass window towards his voice. They saw her squint her eyes and lean forward towards them, trying to see into the darkness of the room. Edward's breath caught at the sight of her.

"Why is the room so dark?" she asked

"Just trying to relax you...listen to this".

Music started to play and the engineer looked at Edward and got up from his chair and left the room. This was a private moment between the two of them, whatever was on that tape.

From the first note of the first word sung, she recognized the voice as Edward's. Nobody in the world had a voice like his. She put her head down and held her hands over the headphones and listened to the song he was singing, obviously meant for her.

**I can't hide the way I feel about you anymore****  
****I can't hold the hurt inside, keep the pain out of my eyes anymore****  
****My tears no longer waiting, my resistance ain't that strong****  
****My mind keeps recreating a life with you alone****  
****And I'm tired of pretending, I don't love you anymore.****Let me make one last appeal to show you how I feel about you****  
****Cause there's no-one else I swear holds a candle ****  
****Anywhere next to you****  
****My heart can't take the beating, not having you to hold****  
****A small voice keeps repeating deep inside my soul****  
****It says I can't keep pretending I don't love you anymore.****I've got to take the chance or let it pass by****  
****If I expect to get on with my life****My tears no longer waiting****  
****Oh my resistance ain't that strong****  
****And my mind keeps recreating a life with you alone****  
****And I'm tired of pretending I don't love you anymore****  
****Anymore…..anymore…..anymore.****  
**

He wasn't an expert at a soundboard, but he knew how to switch the button to the off position. He looked at her, waiting for some kind of reaction to what she had just heard. When he had been back in California, after speaking with Jake, he knew that he needed to make amends with her and find a way to express his feelings for her. He did it in the only way he knew how, through his music. She was a country girl, born and bred, and she loved good old-fashioned country love songs. He had found this one, and the words and melody spoke to him and conveyed exactly what he wanted to say to Bella as a preliminary to the conversation he hoped to have with her. He held his breath and waited for her to do something.

Finally, she made a move on the stool. Her shoulders heave and Edward realized she was crying.

_Oh God, baby no...don't cry, my love...it kills me to see you cry. _

She removed the headphones and placed them on the floor beside her and placed her hands over her face and sobbed. She had no idea he was there, simply thought the engineer had played a tape for her.

He couldn't take it any longer. He left the engineering room and opened the door to the booth she was in. She remained on the stool, and didn't lift her head when she heard the door open, assuming her sound technician was coming inside to calm her down and comfort her.

Edward knelt before her and tried to whisper her name, but his throat constricted, and he needed to clear it and swallow the painful lump before he made another attempt.

"Bella?"

Her head lifted at the sound of his voice and she looked at him in shocked amazement.

He took her hands, wet from covering her face and drew them to his mouth. He placed gentle kisses on them and said her name again, a softer whisper, "Bella".

She watched him kissing her hands, crouched before her and her chest heaved again as she struggled to stop crying and catch her breath.

"I can't believe you're here, Edward".

"I can't believe you aren't having someone toss me out of here", he replied. "Sweetheart, I've been such a stubborn ass".

She withdrew her hands from his, using them to wipe her face as a fresh tears began to flow. She stood up and reached for his hands, urging him to stand. When he was upright, she put her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. "I'm so sorry for what I did to you, Edward".

He held her away from him slightly, a little confused, trying to understand what she meant. He had come here to apologize for his unforgivable behavior and ask for another chance, so what was she talking about?

"Sweetheart, what do you mean?

"Oh Edward, all this mess could have been avoided if I had only handled it better. First, I never should have taken off in the middle of the night when I left Los Angeles to begin with. That's not how adults work out their relationship problems".

He listened as she talked and got things off her chest that had obviously been bothering her.

"Then, when you asked me about Jake, it would have been so easy to tell you who he was and let it go, but I made a big mountain out of a molehill and look what has happened to us", she took a breath and sounded like she was gasping, as she was crying at the same time.

"He isn't anybody special, Edward. Well, he is, but he isn't. He's the oldest friend I have in the world but that's all he'll ever be to me. Nobody in the world could ever be what you are", she said. "All I had to do was answer your question in the condo, Edward, but I was the one who was the stubborn ass. I let my foolish pride get in the way. I'm such a bad girlfriend. Why would you even want someone like me to be your girlfriend?".

Her tears flowed and her breath came in ragged gasps.

He didn't know what to say. He looked at her in shock, watched her as she cried and gulped air and finally managed to gather his senses. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could, shushing her and stroking her hair. "You don't owe me an apology or an explanation for anything, sweetheart. I should be on my knees right now begging you for forgiveness".

Her watery brown eyes looked up at him, wanting so badly to believe that he was telling her the truth, afraid to believe that she was getting her hopes up again for nothing. He wiped her tears with his hands and moved her hair away from her eyes.

"You're the most perfect woman in the world, and the best girlfriend any guy could ever hope to have. You haven't ever given me any reason to doubt you, or not trust you. Everything was entirely my fault, Bella, all of it. I have so much to talk to you about, but I don't want to do it here. I'm telling the guys you're done for today, okay? We're going to go someplace where we can talk".

She agreed, unconcerned for the time being about the recording sessions. There were times in life when things had to be prioritized, and her personal life came before her career any day.

Edward notified the sound engineer and Bella's management team that the session was over for the day. He instructed them to bill the rest of the day for her session on his own account. Now, nobody had to squawk over crew pay and all the unpleasant aspects of the recording business. His main concern was getting himself and his girl somewhere private where they could begin to put the pieces of their lives back together.

**Authors Notes: Now we're getting somewhere. Enough sadness and angst! The next chapter is the last regular chapter...and is rated very M. **


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**

**Thanks for the lovely reviews...we're at the last regular chapter and then a small epilogue will follow. **

**Rated M for sexual content.**

**Chapter 15: A LOVE THAT GOES THE DISTANCE**

The cab dropped them off at the Gramercy Park Hotel, one of the finest in New York City. Edward had called ahead and booked them into the terrace suite and sent for her personal belongs to be transferred from the previous hotel she had been occupying. They needed the privacy that the suite afforded, and each one of them hoped that their time together would result in the reconciliation they both longed for.

He wanted to take her into his arms as soon as the door closed behind them, but he knew he still owed her an explanation for his bad behavior, to sincerely apologize to her, and promise her a love that would go the distance, one that she could count on. It was a struggle finding the words to begin. Never in his life had he wished he were a more eloquent man.

"Bella, do you need anything sweetheart?"

Shaking her head "no", she wrapped her arms around her own shoulders in the self-protective pose he had seen a few times before during their relationship.

"Sit down, honey. It's my turn to tell you a few things", he said to her.

Bella perched on the edge of the sofa, not getting too comfortable, almost as if she were going to jump and run. He cleared his throat and began speaking, wringing his hands in that nervous way of his, occasionally tugging his pinkie. "I almost don't know where to begin. The coward in me wants to just let my song speak to you, but I owe you so much more than that".

He walked over to where she was and squatted next to her, bringing him to eye level with her. "First, I'm so sorry for leaving you night after night to go out partying. It was incredibly selfish of me. I'm the one who has been a bad partner. You told me from the beginning how you felt about the nightlife, and I disregarded your feelings. I'm sorry, baby, and I hope you can forgive me someday".

Her eyes remained locked on his, silently watching and listening, letting him speak.

"I know you thought about your daddy every time I walked out that door and stayed out all night and you wondered if I was doing to you what your dad did to your mom. Bella, I swear to you on my life, I never did. I've never been unfaithful. Even while we've been apart and I've been out partying and clubbing, I've been faithful, I swear to God, baby".

Her head dropped and he saw the tears fall on her forearms. It knifed through his heart but he continued.

"I put the house in L.A. up for sale. I can't...I can't live there ever again...I can't go back to a place that has imperfect memories for you, sweetheart...a place where I treated you so unfairly. I'd rather live on Peachtree Rd. with you if you'll have me. We can commute to L.A. when we need to for recording sessions and appearances, and we'll just rent a place short term as needed."

Her heart swelled with hope as she listened to Edward, seeing the truth and love in his burning green eyes.

" I haven't been partying and drinking, Bella, not for weeks now. I'm sober and I plan on staying that way. I need you, baby...I need us...I don't need booze and parties and the nightlife for good times anymore. I want all my good times to be with you, the two of us building this life together that started last year in THE BAR.

Her watery eyes beseeched him to continue, to acknowledge his most egregious error.

"I realized shortly after our argument in Georgia that I overreacted about your phone message from Jake. There was no need for me to get so worked up over that. I owe you an apology for doubting your faithfulness, and I owe you an apology for my terrible behavior that day. I started seeing a professional therapist who has helped me recognize a few things about myself and has given me the tools I need to overcome my temper. I'm in anger management, Bella and I know with all my heart I can and will conduct myself differently in the future. Oh, and I met Jake, honey. He loves you very much and you're lucky to have him as a best friend".

Bella learned about Jake's visit to their L.A. Mansion and his intervention with Edward on her behalf.

"Jake did that for me...for us" she whispered. He really was a best friend in the truest sense of the word, and she hoped with all her heart that one day Jake would find the love he deserved.

" He did, my love. It was one of the bravest things I've ever seen. Honestly, I don't know if I could have been as gracious and selfless if the situation were reversed. I can't imagine how he must have felt that day, loving you and wanting you, but willingly putting aside his own feelings just to make you happy".

"I _do_ want you to be happy, Bella. I want to be the man you deserve and can always count on. I'm so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry for everything I've done to you and to us. Will you forgive me? Will you take me back?"

He had such a look of pain and desire and love in his eyes that she came undone.

Her hands reached for his, fingers entwining, softly squeezing in acceptance of his declarations and apologies to her. Cupping the back of her head, he leaned forward resting his forehead against hers. For long moments, they simply breathed in the scent of each other.

Bella stood and tugged him along with her to the door of their suite and opened it. He struggled to control his emotions as he watched her place the **DO NOT DISTURB **sign on the door handle. They would need their privacy for a while; they had some catching up to do.

She turned and he pulled her into his arms, unable to wait any longer to kiss her. He ravaged her mouth with his own for several seconds and they began tugging off their clothes in the living room of the suite, unwilling to even wait until they reached the bedroom. She stood before him in a matching bra and thong panty set that caused an instant erection when he looked at her. He unclasped her front-enclosure bra, freeing her gorgeous breasts and his mouth moved in for their taste. Lifting her, he carried her to the bed with a breast in his mouth, her moans filling his ears and acting as an aphrodisiac for him.

Edward lay his beloved on the bed, sucking harder on the nipple in his mouth, then going for its twin. God, he wanted to eat her with a spoon. If he had a spoon here, he would. Well he didn't, so his tongue would have to do. He pulled her thong off with his teeth and spread her legs apart with his hands. He was frantic to see her and smell her and taste her. With her legs spread wide and her moans in his ears, he kissed her, and then started licking and sucking and tasting his way down her body until he reached his prize. She was wet and creamy and ready and he tasted and finished every drop she gave him. This was their favorite thing in the world, and neither one of them got enough. She shivered and exploded on his tongue and lips and he loved the feeling of her cuming on his mouth.

Her arms were reaching down, grabbing him under his armpits, tugging him up her body. "Now, now, come up here now, Edward...I need you so much".

He did as she asked; knowing that she was still orgasmic and the tremors were still wracking her body. It was the best time to enter her...he loved it...and knew she did too. Edward controlled himself, not wanting to cum too soon. If he thrust inside her too quickly, and felt her tightness around him on the down stroke, he'd last only a few thrusts and that would be it. Oh no, he missed her too much for a quickie. He was determined to pace himself and be inside his girl for as long as he could. His hard dick was at her opening and slipped inside slowly. She wrapped her legs around his back and tried using her muscular thighs to pull him in but he backed out till just his tip was in. Damn, she was so hot and wet. He could still feel her contractions from the tongue-gasm he had given her. Bella's hands started to go to his ass to pull him in, but he caught them, putting them over her head and holding them there.

She cried out in frustration and bucked her hips up, just as he thrust forward. He went in deeper than he had planned but it felt so good, so good. It became a rhythm of pulling back out, just to his tip again, enjoying the painful pleasure, watching her face contort with desire and annoyance, then thrusting deeper, pulling out, deeper again and retracting... each time bringing them closer to the edge of completion. He released her hands, which went around his back to hold him close to her.

"Oh Edward, I'm not going to be able to hold this much longer ".

Her breathy words were such a turn on, and he felt her contractions deep inside her, felt the internal clamping down of her muscles on his cock and knew he wouldn't last much longer either.

"I love you...let it go, baby...I love you so fucking much...just let it go", he whispered to her, feeling her climax erupt.

_Oh my baby girl, this feels so good, _his only coherent thought as his own pleasure crested. His eyes were open and looking directly into hers as he finished, heart beating a pounding tattoo against her chest.

Bella sighed with contentment, pure love and commitment shining in the greenest eyes she had ever seen. _We're going to be okay..._

**Author Notes: A happily ever after as promised!**


	16. Chapter 16

**Twilight and characters are solely owned by Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 16**

**Epilogue: Reasons To Celebrate**

**GEORGIA**

Bella's CD was number one on the pop and country charts. She and Edward had returned from New York to the condo on Peachtree Rd. to begin their new life together. During her commutes to The Record Plant in New York City to finish the recording of her new music, Edward stayed busy closing the sale of the mansion in Los Angeles.

Now, with the exciting news of Bella's crossover chart topping CD, they had a reason to throw a down home celebration. For Bella, the choice of venue was obvious: there was no better place to throw a hoe-down than THE BAR. All of her old regulars were there to wish her well and cheer for their girl. The sawdust dance floor was packed to capacity as everyone two-stepped and did the cotton-eyed joe in joyous celebration of Sissy's amazing accomplishment.

They sat in their favorite booth watching the festivities and laughing at everyone's antics. Jake was there with a beautiful attorney he had met at a convention in Detroit. His eyes twinkled as he revealed his hope that she just might be "the one". They were happy for him and told him so, holding hands under the table, secure in their own loving relationship. Yes, they endured a painful seperation, but had learned from it. They now resolved any issues together, as a comitted couple, rather than acting rashly and selfishly as they once had.

Trust was re-established and their love flourished to the point where they longed to take the next step into marriage. They knew their love would pass the test of time, for theirs was a long distance love.

**THE END**

**Authors Notes: It's bittersweet to say goodbye to this Edward and Bella, but I leave them knowing they made it and their love endured. Hope you enjoyed it! Watch for a new story or two to post soon...I am busy editing and proofing at this very moment!**


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